Although there’s nothing in UNCLOS that compels us to respect the traditional fishing activities of other States in our waters, the international practice is to respect traditional fishing activities (sharing po ang trend).

10. SO GANOON NA LANG IYON?

Although the establishment of those artificial islands within the EEZ of the Philippines is illegal dahil walang permission ng Pilipinas, China has a legitimate reason why they need to have a strong foothold in the South China Sea. Legality and legitimacy are not the same in international relations.

Ang halos lahat ng trade na dumadaan sa South China Sea ay galing o papunta sa China. If you are going to study Chinese history, you'll understand the painful lessons China had to learn by not securing the flow of trade to and from its shores. China has experienced its most humiliating defeats from the Europeans through that sea. So hindi mo talaga mapapaalis ang China dyaan dahil their security would be at stake. If that trade gets obstructed, China’s economy will be in peril. And you don’t want a big country like China to fail because it will have negative repercussions in the entire world, and it will be much worse than the Global Financial Crisis.

Ngayon, dahil hardliner ka, eto: If the Philippines can ensure China that it can guarantee security sa flow of trade to and from China, then by all means paalisin ninyo sila. If the Philippines has the capacity to secure that trade for China, paalisin ninyo ang China.

Even the United States secures the flow of maritime trade going to and coming from the US by deploying its navy and having naval outposts. China is simply doing what any country that has an economy with a global reach is doing.

Kaya nga napaka-unreasonable and illogical ng mga concerns about China violating freedom of navigation dahil most of the navigation going on in that sea ay may kinalaman sa trade with China: sa Vietnamese side ng South China Sea dumadaan lahat, while sa Philippine side dumadaan yung ibang papunta at galing ng Australia. Why would they stop freedom of navigation, eh maritime trade is the artery of their economy?? Ano yan suicide?

Kahit ang Pilipinas ang nasa lugar ng China, the Philippines will do the same. So recognise the legitimate interests of China and see how the Philippines and China can work together in order for the Chinese interests to be not inimical to the legitimate interests of our country. And you will not know their legitimate interests and how we can reconcile our interests with them if you are not going to talk to them.

11. NAKU MASAMA TALAGA ANG INTENTION NG CHINA!

You can never know their intention if you are not going to talk to them. If you don't talk to them and assume na masama ang intention nila, all your actions will be based on an illlusion.

Obviously, you can never fully know the intentions of another country even by talking to them. The solution to this problem is talking to them regularly. Eh yung syota mo nga hanggang ngayon hindi mo ma-intindihan, eh isang bansang may complex history, different culture, at language pa kaya? So kapit lang. Not talking to them and not having a good relationship with them don't put you in a better position.

12. SO SA ATIN ANG SPRATLYS?

13. SO ANONG MANGYAYARI SA SCARBOROUGH SHOAL?

Both Filipino and Chinese fishermen are allowed to operate there. The Arbitral Court didn’t award the Scarborough Shoal to the Philippines or to China because the Tribunal has no authority to determine issues of territorial sovereignty.

14. SO ANG SOUTH CHINA SEA AY WEST PHILIPPINE SEA?

Yan ang sabi ng propaganda ng Aquino Administration. The Arbitral Tribunal doesn’t refer to the sea as West Philippine Sea but as South China Sea.

15. SO ATIN ANG SOUTH CHINA SEA?

Walang sinabing ganyan ang Arbitration Court. Huwag ka nga.

16. MAKA-CHINA KA BA?

I’m not for China nor for the Philippines. I'm for international stability and realistic thinking. And I serve my country by being independent of it.

17. WHAT'S YOUR BACKGROUND AT MASYADO KANG NAGMAMARUNONG?

Graduate po ako ng Combined Major in World Politics and Global Justice, minor in International Development, magna cum laude, sa Leiden University College-The Hague. Some of my key courses are International Law, Jurisdiction, Transnational History, Sovereignty and Statehood, Peace and Conflict Psychology, Conflict Resolution and Settlement, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy at Multilateral Institutions (both I studied under a former NATO Secretary General).

I studied din po sa UCLA ng US Foreign Policy at Chinese International Relations. At "Global Poverty, Local Solutions" sa International Institute of Social Studies

Currently, I'm doing a master's in international relations, working on my thesis on the South China Sea conflict, dito pa rin po sa The Hague.

I have at least 10 years of international experience and worked with people at the international level, such as international NGOs, private international defence and consultancy firm (on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear threats), and high-level diplomats.

So I just don't have the academic training on international relations, may practical experience din po ako.PLEASE DONT FORGET TO SHARE!

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ThinkingPinoy, its contents, and its associated social media accounts were created, published, and maintained solely by ThinkingPinoy (TP) in his personal capacity. TP is not officially affiliated with any political party. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this website and its associated social media accounts are TP’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of any particular political party.